In a landscape where businesses are constantly seeking ways to minimize their tax burdens while contributing to social good, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) stands out as a powerful tool. This federal tax credit not only incentivizes employers to hire individuals from targeted groups facing barriers to employment but also supports economic growth and community development. This post will dive into what WOTC is, who qualifies, and how it benefits both businesses and society.
Unlocking Potential: Understanding the Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Going for Gold with the Work Opportunity Tax Credit
In the world of employment incentives, there exists an impactful, yet often overlooked tax credit that takes on the spirit of the Olympics by empowering individuals and promoting diversity.
Unlocking Opportunities: The Work Opportunity Tax Credit for Veterans and Ex-Felons
You’ve seen the advertising for larger companies – slogans like “Hire a Vet” or “We Offer Second Chances” – appealing to certain groups that would be interested in applying for a job, sparked by this type of focused outreach. To combat the labor shortage that some companies are facing, they are expanding their hiring pool to drum up new applicants that might have barriers to employment. These hiring initiatives help to drive down the unemployment rate for groups that have a hard time re-entering the workforce after transitioning from challenging life experiences.
Strapped for Cash; Companies Look to California ETP for Relief!
As the country continues to grind through the COVID-19 pandemic, states have been looking for ways to help businesses impacted by the unprecedented economic downturn. In addition to the incentives offered by the Federal government, several states have acted on their own either by authorizing new, COVID specific incentives, amending existing programs or by working within the confines of the existing rules and regulations of some programs.
A $2.5 million tax credit grant is making its way to 12 states in order to speed up processing times for Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program certifications!
A Tale of Two Tax Agencies During the COVID-19 Crisis: Federal giveth and California taketh away
On June 29, 2020, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, signed into law the fiscal year 2020-2021 state budget, which included provision AB 85, limiting the ability of certain taxpayers to use net operating losses (“NOLs”) and specific business credits for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax years. Specifically, for tax years beginning on or after January 1,2020 and before January 1, 2023, taxpayers with a net business income or modified adjusted income of greater than or equal to $1 million will have their NOLs suspended during the period, and businesses will be capped at claiming $5 million in business credits per tax year.
Since the beginning of the pandemic it has been a whirlwind of unprecedented economic impacts. With that came the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and a curtailment of enforcement actions by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including audits. Per the People First Initiative the IRS generally avoided launching new audits from April 1st through July 15th. This did not prevent the IRS from opening audits to protect the government’s interest in preserving statute of limitations. (See IRS, IR-2020-59) In a report released June 29th, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said that the IRS launched substantially fewer audits from April 1st to June 1st compared to the same period in 2019. The IRS launched 71% fewer Corporate audits, 79% fewer Partnership audits, and 65% fewer individual audits. In total across all types of examinations there was a 65% decrease during this time period. With July 15th approaching the assumption is that there will be an increase in audits launched. However, with the pandemic still in a critical state as numbers of COVID-19 cases rise it remains to be seen what will happen as things are more fluid and the rules of the game are constantly changing.
During this time of unprecedented economic challenges faced by small businesses during COVID-19, rare glimpses of bipartisanship are encountered to assist small business with economic relief. Due to the economic challenges faced by small businesses the economic relief provided is in a constant state of fluidity. This has been the status quo for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The President signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA) to address the concerns voiced by the small businesses utilizing the program. The Congressional intent of the new law is to allow greater flexibility for business to use the PPP loans that was not provided by the initial short-term fix of the PPP set up under the CARES Act. This new law provides the following expansions and flexibility to address the issues created by the CARES Act – PPP, that was a band aid and not a comprehensive bandage when it was enacted.
Despite the size of the veteran workforce, tapping into the population has proved to be a challenge for many non-governmental employers. In 2012, to address the challenges faced by Gulf War-era II Veterans, Congress passed the Vow to Hire Hero’s Act, which expanded the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (“WOTC”) with the addition of four new, veteran-specific categories. The WOTC was created in 1996 to provide a federal tax credit to employers that hire individuals from specific target groups. People from these target groups have been identified by the U.S. government as having historically high unemployment rates. By many measures, the WOTC has been a success and continues to have bi-partisan support in Congress.
Key Changes to COVID-19 Incentives Paycheck Protection Loan and Employee Retention Credit
Life is in a constant state of flux right now with the COVID-19 virus. It has affected daily life and the economy. Congress has worked to provide economic stimulus programs such as loans and credits. The intent of Congress was to stimulate the economy and help employers maintain business and retain employees to alleviate the economic hardship caused by COVID-19. However, as is typical when trying to quickly stop the negative impact of a disaster, details get omitted from the legislation and key areas need clarification as we have seen recently with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Employee Retention Credit. More specifically, with the PPP concerning the deductibility of expenses when payments were made with debt forgiven funds and with the Employee Retention Credit in determining whether employers could claim the Employee Retention Credit when the only payments made to furloughed employees was for their health care benefits.